Content:

(HH, Ho, LLL, VV, S, NN, AAA, DDD, M) Strong humanist worldview, plus an offhand comment about a lesbian fantasy; 115 obscenities and profanities; strong violent content includes two references to suicide, two men throw several punches but are stopped, and man accidentally starves dog to death; numerous mentions of sexual encounters but nothing explicitly shown, offhand comment about a lesbian fantasy; upper female nudity, upper male nudity, woman in bikini; excessive alcohol use, often combined with drugs to cope with depression; excessive cigarette smoking, excessive marijuana smoking, man buys various illegal substances from a regular dealer, several men overdose on drugs and are hospitalized without any repercussions; and, girl pulls fire alarm in order to avoid taking a test and man asks his psychiatrist’s permission to cheat on his wife.

Summary:

SHRINK stars Kevin Spacey as a psychiatrist who must deal with the crippling loss of his wife and finds an unexpected friend in a juvenile delinquent, played by Keke Palmer. SHRINK portrays a very dismal, naturalistic world where redemption is scarce, but nudity and foul language are aplenty.

Review:

** Contrived Plot, Hopeless World **

TITLE: Shrink

Quality: * * Acceptability: -3

SUBTITLES: n/a

WARNING CODES:

Language: LLL

Violence: VV

Sex: S

Nudity: NN

RATING: R

RELEASE: July 24, 2009

TIME: 104 minutes

STARRING: Kevin Spacey, Mark Webber, Keke Palmer, and Robin Williams

DIRECTOR: Jonas Pate

PRODUCERS: Dana Brunetti, Braxton Pope and Kevin Spacey

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: None

WRITER: Thomas Moffett

BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY: N/A

DISTRIBUTOR: Roadside Attractions

CONTENT: (HH, Ho, LLL, VV, S, NN, AAA, DDD, M) Strong humanist worldview, plus an offhand comment about a lesbian fantasy; 115 obscenities and profanities; strong violent content includes two references to suicide, two men throw several punches but are stopped, and man accidentally starves dog to death; numerous mentions of sexual encounters but nothing explicitly shown, offhand comment about a lesbian fantasy; upper female nudity, upper male nudity, woman in bikini; excessive alcohol use, often combined with drugs to cope with depression; excessive cigarette smoking, excessive marijuana smoking, man buys various illegal substances from a regular dealer, several men overdose on drugs and are hospitalized without any repercussions; and, girl pulls fire alarm in order to avoid taking a test and man asks his psychiatrist’s permission to cheat on his wife.

GENRE: Drama

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Adults

In Brief:

SHRINK examines the ongoing struggle of Henry Carter (played by Kevin Spacey), a psychiatrist who he tries to deal with the death of his wife. Years have passed, but Henry is still unable to cope. He inadvertently meets a young girl named Jemma (played by Keke (“Key-Key”) Palmer), who has become a delinquent after her mother’s sudden suicide. Henry and Jemma realize someone else shares their problems, which leads to a close friendship.

SHRINK has an interesting story that sounds better on paper than it feels in execution. Plot points pop in and out with little care for cohesion. Several of the final revelations are immensely contrived, with no setup to deliver a satisfying payoff. The film portrays a very dismal, humanist world where redemption is scarce but nudity and foul language are aplenty. Characters who have no reason to swear do so just because they can. Casual conversations will result in a dozen obscenities. SHRINK also has several instances of upper male and female nudity, in addition to a few implied sexual situations. The world here is very dismal with no hint of redemption of any kind, from God or otherwise.